CABLE #68 - June 1999

Sign of the End Times Part 3: Faraway, So Close

Credits: Joe Casey (writer), Jose Ladronn (penciler), Juan Vlasco (inker), Gloria Vasquez (colors), Comicraft’s Saida T. (letters)

Summary: Cable and the Avengers continue to battle the Harbinger. Blaquesmith arrives in New York and uses his thought-projector device to inform Cable of Ozymandias’ prophesy. Cable refuses to allow New York to die, even if it will avert Apocalypse’s rule. Iron Man gives Cable his boots, which Cable uses to fly Harbinger into the atmosphere. Harbinger explodes, while a mystery figure rescues Cable. Stacey watches the skies, convinced that Cable is dead.

Review: It’s another issue of a giant Avengers fight by Ladronn, so this isn’t all bad. Casey can’t seem to craft a story that matches the intensity of the art, though, leaving the “death of New York” concept to sputter out badly. I guess the idea was to emphasize Cable’s evolution as a character through his decision to rescue New York, even if its destruction would guarantee Apocalypse’s defeat. To put it politely, this idea isn’t explored very well. Cable doesn’t even learn of the prophesy until the final pages of the story, the specifics of how exactly the destruction of New York will eventually stop Apocalypse are never given, and at no point does Cable even weigh the options, which makes it a pretty lame ethical dilemma. Some of the character work with Stacey isn’t bad, but the grand tone Casey’s trying to strike with the story just comes across as melodrama. This was a three-issue story about a cyborg fighting some superheroes while he destroys a few buildings. It’s okay to dress it up a bit, but trying so hard to hit the “epic” note just emphasizes how silly the idea was in the first place.

MUTANT X #4 - January 1999

Secrets and Lies

Credits: Howard Mackie (writer), Cary Nord (penciler), Andrew Pepoy (inker), Gina Going (colors), Chris Eliopoulos (letters)

Summary: While Bloodstorm visits Forge, demons invade the Six’s headquarters. Havok and Scotty are cornered by the monsters, but Madelyne suddenly emerges as the Goblin Queen and saves them. She then abruptly shifts back into her human form.

“That’s Crazy Because They’re Different”: A girl named Kitty is a servant at Forge’s manor. Forge offers himself to Bloodstorm as food, and she seems to believe that feeding on him relieves his unspecified suffering. Bloodstorm can also transform into fog in this reality.

Better Than X-Factor?: Sure. Cary Nord’s just doing fill-ins at this point, but his style matches the dark tone of the story perfectly. There’s a lot of setup going on here, as page after page is dedicated to Scotty’s demonic visions and Madelyne spends several pages being tempted by the actual demons, but the art and colors help to sell the mood. It’s an “Inferno” callback, and as a late ‘80s Marvel fan, I can’t complain about that. Mackie’s also delivered a much more natural and subdued script this month. Perhaps this started as a gimmicky Halloween issue, but it worked out quite well.

WOLVERINE #137 - April 1999

Countdown to Destruction

Credits: Erik Larsen (writer), Jeff Matsuda (penciler), Jonathan Sibal (inker), Mark Bernardo (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Wolverine rescues Aria, who takes him to Prison World’s main power core. They shut off the power, freeing the inmates. Before they can escape, however, they’re ambushed by the Starjammers, who have agreed to join the Collector’s cause. Corsair explains that Prison World was designed to be invisible to the outside world, but is now exposed without power. Wolverine questions what kind of threat the Collector needs to protect the aliens from, just as Galactus arrives on the horizon.

Creative Differences: The third-person narration on the opening page is mistakenly lettered in Wolverine’s distinctive font. (According to Erik Larsen, almost all of the captions were added by editorial anyway.) Other lettering mistakes include a hand-written correction mixed in with the computer-generated font, and numerous dropped words.

Review: I had given up on the Prison World arc by this point, but if I had made it to this chapter, I probably would’ve stuck around for the final issue. I realize that Galactus too often shows up in outer space stories, and many X-fans hated his appearance in this arc, but his role in this story does work as a legitimate twist. Wolverine’s spent the past several issues fighting to free these aliens, only to discover the Collector is trying to spare them from Galactus. Ooops. Now, the Collector could’ve saved everyone a lot of trouble by simply telling his subjects why he’s gathered them, but I’m under the impression that he’s supposed to be too arrogant and enigmatic to even consider the possibility. I still think the art’s too rushed and inappropriate for the subject matter, but I’ll give Larsen credit for picking up the pace and actually using the setting to his advantage this issue.

CABLE #67 - May 1999

Sign of the End Times Part 2: Gods’ Footsteps

Credits: Joe Casey (writer), Jose Ladronn (penciler), Juan Vlasco (inker), Gloria Vasquez (colors), Comicraft’s Saida T. (letters)

Summary: The Avengers confront the Harbinger, giving Cable time to recover. Using his Psimitar staff, Cable temporarily immobilizes Harbinger. Soon, Thor arrives and uses his hammer to send him to another dimension. Cable and the Avengers regroup, but Harbinger soon escapes his exile. Apocalypse greets him in New York and activates his detonation code. Meanwhile, Ozymandias informs Blaquesmith that Cable is destined to be the gatherer of the Twelve.

Continuity Notes: A flashback reveals that Cable told Stacey about his life as a time traveler and the importance of his mission just a few hours before the Harbinger arrived.

Review: This is Joe Casey’s first time writing the Avengers, which might be significant for fans of his retro-miniseries. Obviously, there isn’t a lot of room in the story to flesh out the characters, but he seems to have a grasp of their personalities and he makes their appearance feel appropriately momentous. If I were to draw another comparison between Casey and Frank Miller, it’s certainly possible that their appearance here was inspired by the Avengers’ cameo in Daredevil’s “Born Again” arc.

Like the previous issue, this is largely an action piece, with Casey throwing in a few character bits, such as Cable reflecting on the things he never told his father before he leaves for his possibly final confrontation with Harbinger. I don’t care for Casey’s characterization of the Harbinger, since it seems dismissive of James Robinson’s original vision of the character. Robinson seemed to be going for a “discovering humanity” arc, while Casey is simply using him as a doomsday machine. At any rate, the action works pretty well, and Ladronn’s given a lot of cool things to draw. We’re treated to Ladronn’s renditions of the Avengers, Harbinger’s sojourn into an alternate dimension, and the bizarre nineteenth century “regal” redesign of Apocalypse, which is a welcome break from the blue armor.

X-FORCE #86 - Late January 1999

Experimental Living

Credits: John Francis Moore (writer), Jim Cheung (penciler), Mark Morales, Rob Stull, & Harry Candelario (inks), Marie Javins (colors), Comicraft’s Emerson Miranda (letters)

Summary: X-Force follows Domino to Almost Reno, which is now a ghost town. They eventually find their telepathic friend Mary, who’s discovered another mutant companion, Zack. Agent Briggs and his agents return to kidnap Mary and Zack. X-Force stops them, shortly before Odysseus Indigo arrives. Indigo explains that the Aguilar Institute is a branch of the Damocles Foundation, a group determined to survive the future. Years earlier, the Damocles Foundation mixed mutant and Deviant DNA to give the infertile parents of Almost Reno children. With the exception of Mary and Zack, all of the children have died. X-Force refuses to turn over the two children to Indigo, who peacefully retreats.

Continuity Notes: Indigo says that he is the brother of the “traitor” Ulysses Dragonblood, the Deviant the team encountered in X-Force #84. Almost Reno first appeared in X-Force #77. This issue essentially confirms that Agent Briggs and his SHIELD agents, the villains of #77, are frauds. Apparently, they work for the Damocles Foundation. Zack resembles a gray Ben Grimm, which means he looks like one of those disposable New (or Young?) X-Men characters from the past few years. When he’s hurt in the battle, Moonstar uses her mysterious new powers to heal him.

Review: And here is the all-too-rare sequel to a fill-in issue. X-Force #77 had its moments, but it was heavy on the clichés and stereotypes. Moore corrects a few of those flaws this issue by establishing the generically corrupt SHIELD agents as frauds, and by revealing that nuclear testing didn’t create the child mutants -- it actually made their parents sterile. As a tie-in to the ongoing Damocles Foundation subplot, this isn’t that much of a stretch, so the past continuity works out quite well here.

It is a little odd that the members of X-Force are still exceedingly nasty towards the non-mutant residents of this small town, though. The town’s been kidnapped as a part of the Damocles Foundation’s experiments, and while Indigo promises that they’re okay, the team has no reason to believe him. When Cannonball questions if they should find the citizens, which include Mary’s mother, Domino responds that the town can burn for all she cares. Sheesh. Since she wasn’t even in issue #77, it’s hard to reason why she’s so hostile towards these people. Is she angry that the citizens agreed to genetic testing to cure their sterility? Is that so bad a crime? They just wanted babies. Anyway, aside from those odd bits of characterization, another decent issue.

GENERATION X #48 - February 1999

Foxes & Scorpions

Credits: Jay Faerber (writer), Terry Dodson (penciler), Rachel Dodson (inker), Felix Serrano (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Irritated by M’s attitude, Jubilee challenges her to a duel in the Danger Room. Elsewhere, Emma learns that she’s lost considerable money in the stock market. When she suggests telepathically manipulating investors, Banshee convinces her to try a legitimate path. She decides to call her older sister, Adrienne. Meanwhile, Husk returns home and is disappointed by Chamber’s cold reaction. Unbeknownst to her, Chamber is following Skin’s advice. Later, Maggot arrives outside the school.

Miscellaneous Note: The title of this issue is a reference to an old middle eastern fable about a fox that carries a scorpion across a river. In Aesop’s fable, the fox is replaced by a frog, but the moral is the same.

Review: Jay Faerber debuts, and while his main story is essentially an extended Danger Room sequence, he introduces enough subplots to keep things fresh. The school’s going broke, Skin is giving Chamber bad relationship advice, Gaia can’t give Husk relationship advice because she’s been strapped to a rock her entire life, and several months after a set-up in X-Men, Maggott finally arrives. The momentum’s starting to pick up again, and it doesn’t hurt to have Terry and Rachel Dodson back, either.

The M/Jubilee fight is mainly there to provide some action and give the Dodsons something interesting to draw, but Faerber also uses the sequence to address how M feels about the months she spent trapped in Penance’s body. Jubilee thinks M shouldn’t be so hostile to her, given the time she spent with Penance. M responds that Jubilee treated her like a pet. Apparently, she’s deeply offended by all of those apples Jubilee brought her during the Lobdell/Bachalo issues. It’s not a very logical grudge to keep, but it’s fitting with M’s character. As M uses the old fable to illustrate, it’s her nature to be this way. Faerber shows very quickly that he gets the characters, so even if this is mainly a set-up issue, it doesn’t feel like a waste of time.

MUTANT X #3 - December 1998

The Pack

Credits: Howard Mackie (writer), Tom Raney (penciler), Andrew Pepoy (inker), Gina Going (colors), Chris Eliopoulos (letters)

Summary: On their way to Alaska, the Six are shot down by the Canadian military. The team is kidnapped by the Pack, leaving Havok alone. After he accidentally uncovers the abandoned Weapon X facility, the Pack agrees to free the team. Inside, the flood of memories drives the Pack insane, leading to another fight with the Six. Alpha Flight arrives and arrests the Pack. To avoid an international incident, the Six peaceably leave.

“That’s Crazy Because They’re Different”: The Pack consists of Wolverine, Sabretooth, and Wild Child. They’re all feral, and apparently only Wolverine has (limited) verbal skills. In this reality, the Weapon X project existed to create super-soldiers to fight against America in the Canadian/American conflict.

Better Than X-Factor?: Even though this is the weakest issue so far, yes. The idea of a militarized, hostile Canada is so absurd I can’t help but to like it, but the introduction of the Pack is a disappointment. The actual plotting of the issue is also a bit sloppy, as the story requires 1) the Brute to abruptly switch sides twice, with no compelling reason either time, 2) Havok to luckily blast into the hidden entrance of the Weapon X facility, 3) the Pack to irrationally turn on the Six for a second fight, and 4) Alpha Flight to conveniently arrive in time to stop the battle. Mackie is still having some fun with the premise, though. Havok presents a rational argument to the Six, explaining that being stuck in an alternate reality is no more implausible than anything that’s already happened to the team. That’s, you know, a good point. Maddie counters that even if he’s telling the truth, in this reality Havok’s respected by his peers, is married, has a baby, and lives a nice life. Why would he want to give that up? That’s not a bad argument, either. Just think -- two pages of rational conversation in a Howard Mackie comic. How often did that ever happen in X-Factor?

WOLVERINE #136 - March 1999

Trust

Credits: Erik Larsen (story), Erik Larsen & Eric Stephenson (script), Jeff Matsuda (penciler), Jonathan Sibal (inker), Jason Wright (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Aria is knocked unconscious and sent back to her cell, where an Ovoid returns her consciousness to her body. Torgo escorts Wolverine to his cell, un-handcuffed, hoping that he’ll see the nobility of the Collector’s plans. His fellow captives attack Wolverine, until they realize that he’s an X-Man and not in league with Torgo. Meanwhile, the Collector receives frightening news from space. The Starjammers have also learned information that’s forced them to side against Wolverine.

Review: More aliens, more pointless fight scenes, and more subpar Jeff Matsuda art. We’ve reached our first Star Wars reference, though, which is amazing when you consider that this is the fourth chapter of the story. It is fun to see characters like Torgo (an alien robot from Fantastic Four #91, as a footnote and flashback helpfully inform us) in a Wolverine story, plus Larsen gets continuity points for bringing back one of the asparagus people killed by Dark Phoenix, and for using an Ovoid to transfer Aria back to her proper body. The Marvel Cosmic material isn’t a bad change of pace, but this plot is still extremely thin, and Jeff Matsuda doesn’t seem too interested in drawing it sometimes. The hints about a vague cosmic threat do add some intrigue to the tired story, but it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out who it’s going to be. And as much as the online fans already hated this story at the time, the final two chapters with the big purple menace just sent them over the edge.

THE AVENGERS: EARTH’S MIGHTIEST HEROES Volumes 3 & 4

Review copies provided by the studio.

Collecting the second half of the first season, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes volumes 3 and 4 are now available on DVD. The first batch of Avengers episodes was a pleasant surprise, with solid designs by the late Boyd Kirkland, smooth animation by Film Roman, and stories that modernized classic Avengers battles with only a small amount of annoying Ultimization. The series clearly improves as the episodes continue, as the character designs tighten up, the digital color palate grows more complex, and the stories develop into multi-part, Avengers-worthy epics. Plus, that irritating mall punk theme song has been chopped in half in the later episodes.

It’s hard to imagine an Avengers fan not getting a kick out of most of these episodes. The storylines draw inspiration from everything from Walt Simonson’s “Casket of Ancient Winters” Thor arc, to Kurt Busiek’s global Kang vs. the World storyline from his final Avengers days. Characters you never really expected to see, such as Mockingbird and Ms. Marvel, even make appearances. Actually, Mockingbird does more than make an appearance; she’s a lead character for a few episodes. This must be what DC fans felt like when characters like Vixen and Captain Atom showed up on Justice League Unlimited. Not that Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes is quite on Justice League Unlimited’s level, but it’s the closest any Marvel series has come so far.

Whether or not you wish to own these episodes on DVD likely depends on your level of fandom, but the sets are absolutely worth a rental. The entire first season has also been available via Netflix’s instant streaming service for a while now. I’m not sure when season two is set to begin, but hopefully the wait won’t be too long. This is a show that could easily match the episode runs of the ‘90s Spider-Man and X-Men series, assuming Marvel plays its cards right.

X-FORCE #85 - Early January 1999

Possession

Credits: John Francis Moore (writer), Angel Unzueta (penciler), Bud LaRosa (inker), Marie Javins (colors), Comicraft’s Emerson Miranda (letters)

Summary: In Latveria, Skids and Locus are possessed by the witch Pandemonia, who forces them to take her to X-Force’s headquarters. When Cannonball, Moonstar, and Jesse Aaronson return home, they discover Pandemonia has possessed their teammates. They travel to the city and find a young sorceress named Jennifer Kale who’s willing to help. They return to battle Pandemonia and the possessed X-Force. With the help of Jennifer, and Moonstar’s strange new powers, Pandemonia is sent back to the Chaos Plane. Meanwhile, while investigating the Aguilar Institute, Domino discovers a shapeshifting child from Almost Reno, New Mexico.

Continuity Notes: Moonstar has been exhibiting odd, almost cosmic-level powers since her encounter with Arcadia in the previous issue.

Review: The Skids/Locus subplot is resolved, in a manner that a) leads into a new story, b) doesn’t take forever to answer the dangling questions, and c) actually makes sense. After the days of the Graydon Creed assassination, mysteriously molting Archangel, and wacky powers Jean Grey, this is a welcome relief. Moore’s quite gifted at spinning plates, bringing forgotten characters back into the mix, and tying everything together into a coherent story. I think he’s a little too obsessed with having the team only hang out with twenty-somethings, to the point that an MTV-friendly sorceress is recruited into the action (because the team doesn’t have Dr. Strange’s phone number), but that’s a minor complaint. The fill-in art is provided by Angel Unzueta, whose style resembles Carlos Pacheco’s early work. Not every page is great, but overall he does a nice job.

CABLE #66 - April 1999

Sign of the End Times Part 1: Death from Above

Credits: Joe Casey (writer), Ladronn (penciler), Juan Vlasco (inker), Gloria Vasquez (colors), Comicraft’s Saida Temofonte (letters)

Summary: The Harbinger flies over New York, prompting a military response. He diverts the missiles shot at him and destroys the Statue of Liberty. As the city panics, Cable confronts the Harbinger. Their battle destroys the World Trade Center and nearly kills Cable. Suddenly, the Avengers arrive. Meanwhile, Ozymandias explains to Blaquesmith that New York must be destroyed in order to stop Apocalypse. He then hints at another prophesy -- the Twelve.

Continuity Notes: Cable kisses Stacey for the first time before leaving to fight the Harbinger.

I Love the '90s: Apparently, the Marvel Universe is pretty resilient when it comes to rebuilding the World Trade Center. I wonder how long the towers stood in-between the Juggernaut and Harbinger’s attacks?

Review: Remember the late ‘90s, when “widescreen” action and wholesale destruction was considered the cure for the post-boom malaise? I actually never got into those comics, but I certainly remember the hype, and it looks like Joe Casey has fallen for it this issue. And, even if the plot is noticeably thin, you have to acknowledge that Ladronn is doing an incredible job with the visuals. I’m sure the story could’ve been tightened up to remove some of the repetitive Harbinger vs. Army fight pages, but Ladronn makes them look so cool, it’s hard to dismiss them as padding. I am a little disappointed that the Harbinger has returned as a fairly generic villain, although Casey does give him a slight justification for his assault since he was attacked first. The turn from “learning about humanity” to outright destroying large sections of New York is hard to swallow, though. And, as I’ve said before, the casual destruction of giant buildings during a superhero fight scene makes these comics now seem ridiculous in a way the creators never intended.

GENERATION X #47 - January 1999

She Got Game

Credits: Larry Hama (writer), Aaron Lopresti (penciler), Walden Wong (inker), Felix Serrano (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Forge arrives at the academy to install a new Danger Room in the school’s gym. The new technology is made out of a mysterious metamorphic matter that Forge’s recently discovered and rendered inert. As he lectures the students on ethics, Gaia accidentally revives the Danger Room’s originally programming. It emerges as “Paradox” and attacks Forge. With Emma Frost’s help, a shutdown code is implanted in Paradox’s memory, ending the fight.

Continuity Notes: Forge says he discovered Paradox’s technology during a “recent…adventure.” I have no clue if this is a reference to a published story or merely an idea Hama was percolating. Forge also casually reveals that the school’s Biosphere (or “Bio-Sphere” as it’s often spelled) is made up of a portion of Karkoa’s body. I know that Scott Lobdell teased a Karkoa story towards the end of his run, but I have no memory of this ever being established. At any rate, Karkoa’s desire to be “whole again” is Forge’s explanation for the Biosphere’s recent disappearance. In other news, Artie and Leech have moved into the attic, and Emma discusses Special Education classes for the boys.

Review: Not only does this story involve a sentient Danger Room run amok, but it opens with a surprise Sentinel attack on mutant students gathered in an assembly. Two ideas from Astonishing X-Men in one issue? If I thought for a second that Joss Whedon ever read more than three issues of Generation X, I might be suspicious. Anyway, while Aaron Lopresti can’t capture John Cassaday’s incredible Sentinel attack from Astonishing X-Men #1, Larry Hama has at least written a more plausible “living Danger Room” story. Paradox mentions the irony of Forge teaching an ethics class after essentially enslaving a sentient being, but in Forge’s defense, he honestly thought Paradox’s original programming had been erased. In Astonishing X-Men, Professor Xavier is just a deranged zealot who forced an alien consciousness into slavery because his students “must be trained.” (Perfectly in character, you guys.)

Aside from the novelty that the more mature, serious Marvel that hires “real” writers ended up using the same idea, there’s nothing particularly memorable here. Larry Hama exits with a straightforward action story and a brief dissertation on the nature of superpowers and ethics, which is preferable to overly complicated origin stories and interdimensional hijinks, but it isn’t nearly as interesting as his earlier issues. Before he got into Pookas and Tokens, Hama opened his run with some intriguing character subplots and introduced a few civilian cast members that had potential. He seemed to have the right idea -- focus on the characters and give them a few “normal” people to interact with -- but the M/Penance origin storyline derailed the book spectacularly. After that, he focused on smaller, slightly silly story arcs, but the momentum was lost. Marvel wanted a new direction, so beginning next issue, a young writer named Jay Faerber is given the reigns.

WOLVERINE #135 - Late February 1999

From Bad to Worse

Credits: Erik Larsen (writer), Jeff Matsuda (penciler), Jonathan Sibal (inker), Jason Wright (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Wolverine and Aria arrive at Prison World, and are promptly attacked by the Collector’s guards. Their ship is destroyed, forcing Wolverine to escape through an air duct. He’s soon spotted by three patrolmen, but he easily defeats them. Suddenly, an alien places a gun to his head. Wolverine’ relieved to learn that the alien is possessed by Aria. Unfortunately, their reunion is interrupted by Torgo and a Sadri Hunter.

Review: Even though this arc was originally released on a bi-weekly schedule, I felt at the time that the story was taking forever to go anywhere. This issue is a good example of how irritating the pace could be -- Wolverine and Aria land on Prison World, and are confronted by Torgo and the Sadri. To be continued! How does that consume an entire issue? I could live with a few pages of Wolverine ripping through the Collector’s henchmen, but not an entire issue, especially when Jeff Matsuda barely seems interested in drawing them. Heck, on some pages, even the colorist looks like he’d rather be painting his house or something. (Maybe there was a technical problem, but a few of the pages have extremely flat colors that look inappropriately bright, which doesn’t help Matsuda’s occasionally sketchy artwork at all.) There’s nothing particularly engaging about the dialogue, either, unless you really want to hear Erik Larsen mocking Wolverine’s old “Canuckle-Head” nickname for the second or third time since his run began.

GAMBIT #1/2 - 1999

Between Daze

Credits: Fabian Nicieza (writer), Pascual Ferry (penciler), Bob Wiacek & Scott Hanna (inker), Monica Kubina (colors), Jon Babcock (letters)

Summary: Gambit is rescued in the Antarctic by agents of the New Son. In exchange, he’s tasked with rescuing another agent in the Savage Land. Her name is the Courier, and shortly after Gambit frees her from captivity, they’re cornered by the High Evolutionary’s creations. The woman made of green mist that previously rescued Gambit makes her presence known and incinerates the beasts. Gambit allows Courier to leave with plans for a new Terraformer, although he isn’t sure if New Son should have the information.

Continuity Notes: A flashback establishes that the X-Men spent three days looking for Gambit in Antarctica, following Uncanny X-Men #350, but he intentionally hid from them. This is, I believe, the fifth comic to back off from #350’s ending and claim that the X-Men didn’t really abandon him to die.

I'm not sure if the Courier in this issue is supposed to be the male shapeshifter who later appears in the regular series. I'm under the impression that this character is supposed to be an alien.

Review: The X-office made a conscious decision to back off from team books and focus more on solo stars in the late ‘90s, bringing us a Gambit solo series, written by returning writer Fabian Nicieza. I remember some fans complaining that the mail-in Wizard #1/2 issue had important information for the regular series, and Nicieza’s response was that no comic should just be a throw-away story. That means I’m going to have to track down the Gambit Cyber-Comic that was up on Marvel’s website for probably a month or two in 1999 if I’m going to do a comprehensive review of this series.

Gambit was already a popular target for ridicule by the late ‘90s, even by X-fans, so a lot of people missed out on his regular series. I was reluctant to get into the book at first, but a series of positive reviews convinced me to at least give it a shot. I’m glad I did, because Gambit was often the best X-title of the month, especially during its first year. Nicieza was saddled with a ridiculous starting point for the book (Gambit had returned with no real explanation, for some reason a green misty lady lived inside him, no one could tell if he was supposed to be back with Rogue again, and no one wanted to address the “shocking revelations” of Uncanny X-Men #350), but he actually took Gambit from this starting point and made the series work, often by addressing some of Marvel’s mistakes head-on.

This particular issue, however, isn’t a great indication for what’s ahead in the series. Although I do like the way the New Son mystery played out in the regular series, the introduction here isn’t remarkable at all. Gambit already had a mysterious rescuer from his days stranded in the Antarctic, the Green Mist Lady, so there doesn’t appear to be a pressing need to introduce a second savior. The Savage Land sequence is fun, although it doesn’t make a lot of sense. Courier is trapped in the High Evolutionary’s citadel, yet as soon as Gambit frees her, she casually uses the ID supplied to her by the High Evolutionary to take the Terraformer plans. She makes it clear that the High Evolutionary does want New Son to have this information, she just isn’t sure why. Um…so why was she captive in the first place? This kind of storytelling glitch isn’t the best way to tease your monthly series.

I can understand why someone would be wary of the regular book after reading this issue (and Gambit’s previous year of appearances); not that it’s terrible, but a large plot point doesn’t make sense and it stars a character many fans have already dismissed. Thankfully, the regular series goes a long way towards redeeming Gambit, and the quality level is much higher than this #1/2 issue would lead you to believe.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #116 - September 1994

Live and Let Die Part Four - Crescendo

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Alex Saviuk (breakdowns), Don Hudson (finishes), Steve Dutro (letterer), Kevin Tinsley (colorist)

The Plot: Betty distracts Façade, giving Spider-Man time to recover and fight back. Façade escapes, but shortly after Lance Bannon’s funeral, he returns to the Daily Bugle. Spider-Man resumes the fight and rips open Façade’s armor. The electric shock temporarily knocks him unconscious, giving the man in the FACADE armor time to escape.

The Subplots: Betty vows to continue investigating Archer Bryce, who unexpectedly appears at Lance’s funeral. Jonah Jameson admits to Detective Chase that his son lied about leaving the Bugle with him the night Lance Bannon was killed, leaving John without an alibi. Later, Peter Parker arrives at the hospital to visit Aunt May. May’s mysterious friend arrives at the same time, and runs away when he spots Peter.

Web of Continuity: Spider-Man’s more consistent about calling himself “The Spider” this issue, although the speech pattern still doesn’t match “Shrieking” since he’s still telling jokes and doesn’t seem particularly angry about anything.

Façade visits Lance Bannon’s grave, and while his identity isn’t revealed, we do learn that he’s an adult male who refers to Bannon by his first name.

I Love the ‘90s: Façade calls Betty’s leather vigilante look “a true fashion statement for the nineties.”

Review: “Live and Let Die” concludes, awarding us with no resolution to the storyline’s central mystery, although we are treated to the return of Butch Betty. Not only does she keep a literal armory in her apartment, but she’s also concerned enough about her vigilante image to change into a different outfit before coming to Spider-Man’s rescue. That’s commitment, sister. Just think…about three months ago Marvel Time you were an emotionally broken cult member who couldn’t face the outside world, and now you’re in firefights with hi-tech armored killers. Who says ‘90s comics were dumb?

So, again, the “mystery” turns out to be a waste of trees and the continuity tie-ins with the “Important” Spidey story of the moment don’t work. Façade’s destined to be a joke amongst the few fans who remember him for years, but at least next issue we’re getting the Spider-clone, and that’s not going to make anyone mad at all. What is significant about this issue is that it’s Alex Saviuk’s last one, which is a shame. His work didn’t mesh with Stephen Baskerville’s finishes at all, but thankfully he’s been paired with the more simpatico Don Hudson for the past few issues. Saviuk certainly isn’t going out on the best story in Web’s history, but that’s not his fault. The art is clear, the characters look like themselves, the fight scenes are energetic, and Spider-Man himself has a nice Romita look, even if his eyes are huge now. Saviuk’s art was often the highlight of this title, and his loyalty to the book is certainly admirable. Actually, his loyalty to Spider-Man himself is remarkable, given that he left Web to pencil and ink Spider-Man Adventures, and then moved on to the syndicated newspaper strip. As far as I know, he’s still drawing the Sunday strips.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #115 - August 1994

Live and Let Die Part Three - Shellshocked!

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Alex Saviuk (breakdowns), Don Hudson (finishes), Steve Dutro (letterer), Kevin Tinsley (colorist)

The Plot: Spider-Man searches Lance Bannon’s apartment and runs into his fiancée. He tries to console her and promises that Lance will be avenged. Meanwhile, Betty has dinner with Archer Bryce. Later that night, Façade breaks into her apartment. Spider-Man arrives to save her, but finds himself paralyzed by Façade’s bio-electric attack.

The Subplots: Aunt May has had a stroke, and Mary Jane is unable to contact Peter, who still refuses to return home. Later, she receives a phone call from May’s mystery friend.

Web of Continuity: This storyline is supposed to be occurring simultaneously with the “Shrieking” arc in Amazing Spider-Man, which established Aunt May’s stroke and Spider-Man’s new anti-social attitude.

*See _________ For Details: The mystery man with a connection to the Parkers will make his next appearance in Spider-Man #49.

I Love the ‘90s: Spider-Man quotes Al Franken’s Stuart Smalley character while fighting Façade.

Review: And, in the shocking penultimate episode of “Live and Let Die”, we discover…that Betty is suspicious that Archer Bryce is Façade. Sound familiar? Almost all of the “clues” in this arc are dedicated to hints that are so obvious they have to be red herrings, while the actual mystery is abandoned to make room for pointless fight scenes and a few cross-continuity references. When Kavanagh focuses on Spider-Man’s guilt over not knowing Lance Bannon well enough, and his feeble attempts to comfort his fiancée, the issue at least has a few pages of competent character work. Unfortunately, they don’t even match the cross-continuity the issue is trying to maintain. Spider-Man’s mindset is radically different in the concurrent “Shrieking” arc, not to mention his speech pattern.

“Shrieking” is the storyline that famously brought us “I AM THE SPIDER!!!” -- perhaps the greatest melodramatic excess of J. M. DeMatteis’ career. The story reads better than a simple summary would have you believe, probably because DeMatteis writes Shriek and Carrion so well in it and Mark Bagley’s art is fantastic, but it’s still one of the more ridiculous Spidey stories. If you are trying to tie in with it, though, that means you have to present a dark, brooding Spider-Man that’s past the point of a nervous breakdown; one that can only view himself as “The Spider” and can’t even bear the sight of his loved ones. Kavanagh is absolutely not writing that character, even if he does throw in one “The Spider” reference early on. Spider-Man’s supposed to be a monosyllabic loon at this point, not someone who’s still joking and throwing SNL references around. I don’t know how the other two monthly Spider-Man titles (or the concurrent annuals and quarterly Spider-Man Unlimited book) handled “Shrieking” at this time, but it’s hard to imagine them doing a worse job.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #114 - July 1994

Live and Let Die Part II - Who among Us?

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Joey Cavalieri (script, pgs. 1-8), Alex Saviuk (breakdowns), Don Hudson & Fred Fredricks (finishes), Steve Dutro (letterer), Kevin Tinsley (colorist)

The Plot: Lance Bannon develops his roll of film at the Daily Bugle, and is promptly attacked by Façade. Hours later, Betty Brant discovers Lance’s body. Police detective Sloan Chase questions Jonah Jameson, John Jameson, and Cole Cooper but can’t connect them to the murder. Spider-Man suspects Betty might also be in danger, and soon encounters Façade sneaking into the Daily Bugle. Façade abandons the fight when the Bugle employees call the police.

The Subplots: John Jameson lies to Detective Sloan, claiming that he and Jonah went back to his place the previous night to settle their differences. Archer Bryce’s butler Victor sneaks up on Betty in the Bugle and invites her to see Bryce. They open his limo to discover he’s gone. Meanwhile, a mystery figure calls Aunt May.

Web of Continuity: According to Betty’s research, Bryce’s corporation has been lagging in the industry since his parents died last year. Oh, yeah, and that shadowy figure calling Aunt May is merely the first cameo appearance of Ben Reilly. Pay it no mind.

*See _________ For Details: Aunt May is worried about Peter’s mental state, following the events of Amazing #386-388.

Review: So, Lance Bannon survived last issue’s cliffhanger, only to buy it a few pages into this issue. He discovered the shocking secret of Façade, and surely he must pay the price. Rest in Peace, Lance, until you’re accidentally revived in a peripheral Spider-title by a freelancer who didn’t know you were dead.

Returning Lance Bannon from obscurity merely to kill him off is already a questionable move, but knowing that he died to advance a mystery that no one bothered to resolve, and to build the rep of a generic ‘90s Guy in Armor, is unforgivable. Maybe it’s presumptuous of me to suggest that Terry Kavanagh isn’t exactly Arthur Conan Doyle, but I think it’s charitable to even call this a “mystery.” We have no real clues, just a series of suspects with no motivations, and a hero who’s putting virtually no effort into investigating the case. The hints that Façade might be Archer Bryce are so obvious they have to be a red herring, but there’s nothing else in the story to give any other character a motivation. Yes, John Jameson is lying, but why? And is Marvel really going to make him a villain just three issues after establishing him in a new role at Ravencroft? Façade could be Bannon’s fiancée Amy, or the new kid Cole, or the detective, or an anonymous partygoer, and it wouldn’t matter. There’s no particular reason to care.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #113 - June 1994

Live and Let Die Part One - Darkness Descends

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Alex Saviuk (breakdowns), Stephen Baskerville w/Al Milgrom (finishes), Dutro, Krol, & Babcock (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist)

The Plot: Hearing rumors of a theft, Spider-Man sneaks into Morelle Pharmaceuticals’ unveiling of its neo-bionics project, F.A.C.A.D.E. He confronts Gambit on the rooftop, but their fight ends when Spider-Man’s convinced Gambit isn’t the thief. The Black Cat appears, warning the heroes that something’s wrong inside. Soon, they face the Silencers, and stop them from stealing Morelle’s nuclear-powered generator. Later, Bugle photographer Lance Bannon catches someone sneaking into the F.A.C.A.D.E. armor. “Façade” blasts Bannon in the chest and flies away.

The Subplots: Guests at the Morelle Pharmaceuticals party include Jonah Jameson, Marla Jameson, John Jameson, Dr. Ashley Kafka, Lance Bannon and his fiancé Amy, rookie Bugle photographer Cole Cooper, Betty Brant, Mike Wilson (a lecherous Morelle employee who stumbles across Spider-Man’s fight with the Silencers later on), “renowned European industrialist” Archer Bryce, Victor (Archer’s apparent manservant), and Dr. Thomas Haney, who leads the presentation. Haney’s body is discovered by Lance Bannon at the issue’s end, and the killer is presumably the shadowy figure who’s snuck inside the F.A.C.A.D.E. armor.

Web of Continuity: F.A.C.A.D.E. stands for Full Acclimation Combat and Defense Explo-skeleton. (That’s right. “Explo-skeleton.”) Black Cat says she’s “crossed paths before” with the Silencers. A footnote says, “Remind us to tell you about it sometime.” Looking online, I can't find anyone who's cared enough to create a profile for them. Gambit claims that he’s at the unveiling to make sure members of the Thieves Guild haven’t targeted the project. John Jameson exits the party early after an argument with his father, who disapproves of his new job at Ravencroft.

Gimmicks: This issue comes polybagged with a preview of the upcoming Spider-Man animated series and a facsimile animation cel. I believe the background cover color is what was called a "fifth ink" color. The cover price is $2.95, but a regular-priced edition was also available.

Review: Oh, Façade. This one’s certainly a classic. As future issues will make clear, Kavanagh’s trying to create a murder mystery (Bannon’s merely paralyzed this issue) that uses some of the established supporting cast members and a gaggle of new characters as potential suspects. Kavanagh’s worked overtime inserting characters into this issue, presumably with the goal of creating a few red herrings and perhaps legitimate clues as to Façade’s identity. Unfortunately, as a mystery, the story’s a joke, and not only because the resolution is never given. The book’s a few issues away from getting swallowed into the clone debacle, so poor ol’ Peter Parker’s going to have bigger issues than the unsolved member of a barely remembered supporting cast member from the early ‘80s.

To this issue’s credit, the art’s an improvement over the previous Saviuk/Baskerville team-ups, the Gambit/Spider-Man fight likely thrilled the target audience, and the story’s vague enough at this point to give you hope that maybe this is going somewhere. Unfortunately, “Live and Let Die” turns out to be a prelude to a lengthy, chaotic period of substandard Spidey stories.